Feb. 1st

Hey there!

Just a quick note to update you on the progress of our friends, Mark and Kim Kintner.

I mentioned in our Jan. 20th post that for the last three years, they have been in the process of adopting four children from Haiti. Not long after the earthquake, Kim was able to get into the country to help at the orphanage where the children are. This was welcomed assistance, as many of the regular workers are Haitian, and left after the quake to search for their families.

In the midst of the multiple aftershocks, many of the buildings in the orphanage and at the Lashbrook mission were damaged beyond repair. They have been forced to demolish both the school and the church building, so continued prayer is needed as they seek to rebuild. The damage to dwellings also meant that the children were living outside under tarps.

At the time of the earthquake, there were 41 children who were in various stages of the adoption process at the orphanage. These children, along with the adoptive parents like Kim who were able to make the trip, traveled 150 miles by bus on Jan. 30th to the embassy in Haiti to have all their paperwork processed for the trip to the U.S. The trip was very long, but they arrived and were able to set up camp inside the embassy grounds, which is a much safer environment than the rest of Port Au Prince is currently experiencing.

At this point, I know that five of the children have been processed and released to be reunited with there adoptive parents in the states. Mark, who has been working tirelessly stateside filing papers and fighting for their release, traveled to Miami today to await what he is praying will be a timely reunion with Kim, Steve, Lily, Wally, and Rose.

Please join us in praying that the prime minister will be moved to expedience in signing the papers that will officially allow all 36 children who remain at the embassy permission to come home. And please join us in praying for the Lashbrook family, who remain in Haiti, ministering with the people there, and for the other children. The 41 kids who may be united with new families soon represent just a part of the group who live at the orphanage- they all need families.

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer- God is faithful, and can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine!

In Him we live,

Jeff

Jan. 20th

Prayer partners,

Thanks for stopping in! As we begin this week, Haiti is a central focus of prayer for everyone who believes that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

I'd also like to ask you to join us in praying for the sale of Randy's house. It has been empty for a while, which has attracted the attention of some vandals. Thus far, all damage has been repairable, but he would really like to see it become a home again to someone.

I often have prayer requests shared with me that are of a more private nature. This week, I have two such requests, and I hope you will join me in praying for God's will to be done in the lives of these people. One of the amazing and wonderful aspects of prayer is that we don't need to have details in order to bring something to our Creator- He knows already!

Finally, please join us in praying for Mark and Kim. They are good friends from Ohio who have been in the process of adopting 4 beautiful children from Haiti for the past three years. In the aftermath of the recent earthquake, governments have made some decisions that may very well allow Mark and Kim to finally bring their kids home. Kim works with a university campus house in Ohio that is sending herself and a team to Haiti to bring supplies and support to the mission/orphanage while Mark continues to fight state-side to secure all the appropriate approvals to bring the children into the U.S. Please pray for safety and for open doors!

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer!

In Him we live,

Jeff

Jan. 12th

Hey there!

Thanks for stopping by! Things at C3 have been pretty busy for the past month or so, and I would like to catch you up on some of the "love, live, serve" news:

Memorial Parkway Jr. High has turned out to be a fantastic place to meet- the school district has been extremely gracious hosts and having a space like their "mini" auditorium has allowed us room to grow while still being able to maintain a more cozy atmosphere than a typical school "cafetorium" setup allows. I am always hesitant to throw out numbers, because they don't give the whole story, but I will say that Convergence has experienced what I think would be considered healthy numerical growth since our move into the school. Our Christmas Eve gathering was the most folks we've so far assembled together for corporate worship, and it was a wonderful time! I hope you'll join us in praising God for this blessing, because it's all about what He's done!

But growth happens in more ways than numbers, and one of the most exciting things we've gotten to see this Fall has been the beginning of Taste of Community groups for both our adults and our high schoolers. The goal is to provide more opportunities for people to get to know each other, grow and live in community. Our format is a twist on the traditional idea of home groups, and frankly I wasn't sure how folks would respond to this "experiment," but so far the response has been very positive. Currently we have about 60% of our adults participating in a T.O.C. group, and hope to introduce new options by Spring.

The most consistently unexpected and amazing part of C3 has been our children's ministry, Kids Crossing. Keeping up with the needs of this group on Sunday mornings has been a challenge, because we consistently have almost as many kiddos as adults! But what a reason to praise God! He has taken care of us and has provided some great organizational leadership in Kerri, and a crew of amazing servant-volunteers.

I hope you will join us in praising God for what He's already done, and praying with us that we will be attentive and open to His leading for Convergence Christian Church in 2010.

Thank you, thank you, for partnering in prayer with us!

In Him we live,

Jeff

December 1st

Halloooo! Glad you stopped by!

First, many thanks for your prayers for me as I preached at Memorial C.C. a few weeks ago- we had a great time together unpacking God's Word!

This past week, C3 had our first "Family Sunday," and it was a blast! Our kiddos stayed with us the whole time as we sang, read a great story (thanks Kerri!) partnered up for a group activity and looked at why Isaiah called Jesus "Wonderful Counselor." It was a treat to see what can happen when we are together all morning as a multi-generational community. Our next Family Sunday will be the on December 27th- Please join us in praying about it!

One of our other big praises this past month was the completion of another fence project. This one was for a single mom who has two younger children. Her home backs up to a "greenbelt," which is essentially a long, open strip of undeveloped land that often facilitates utilities or drainage for a neighborhood. Although the majority of her far back fence was missing, there were new posts already set. This made it possible for us to finish the entire fencing repair in a just a couple of hours.

Jobs like this aren't complicated, but they are labor-intensive and can seem overwhelming if you are facing them by yourself. There are many people in our communities that feel like they don't have anyone to turn to for help. As His people, we all have amazing opportunities to show the love of Christ in practical ways. I hope you will pray with us for new openings to serve the world!

Finally, please pray for our friend, Kim P. She is in the hospital as the doctors try to deal with excessive fluid around her heart. These terrific doctors need the wisdom of the Great Physician.

In Him we live,

Jeff

From Brenda - please pray:

1. is our HS Choir director, was in the hospital for sever chest pains...we have a major concert on Friday...Mr. D.

2. A board member/choir dad, Joe S. fell down a flight of stairs in Austin, he had to have surgery to releave pressure on his brain...could be perminant damage.

3. My co-worker Maira...went in for a follow up appt for possible breast cancer.

October 27

Hey gang

This week I've been preaching a revival in the evenings at Memorial Christian Church here in Houston. Tomorrow is the final night of the revival and I have a favor to ask of you: will you join me in praying for tomorrow night's gathering? I really want to get out of the way and let God speak. Please pray for everyone who will be there, that they will have ears to hear what He has to say to them.

I'm so grateful for your partnership in prayer!

In Him we live,

Jeff

October 20

Things are scooting right along at C3, and I'm grateful you've stopped in to pray with us!

First, I want to follow up the last post with an update on our children's ministry, Kids Crossing: As I mentioned last time, we've had to expand things to handle the influx of kiddos over the last few months (this is a great problem to have!) and I asked you to pray about our volunteer situation. I'm happy to report that our ministry director, Kerri, just finished a new schedule that successfully places volunteers in all the most needed positions! Prayer is still needed for a few more volunteers to get us to the ideal number of workers each week, but we no longer have "holes" in the area of lead teachers each week.

I'm also excited to let you know that two new families, the Queen's and the Potter's, have recently joined C3. It's awesome to have them on this journey, and I suppose the greatest praise for me is that they felt so welcome. I hope you'll join us in praying that Convergence continues to be a group that feels like family and a place that feels like home to people that are searching.

Another one of our friends who recently came to C3 is Randy. He has asked us to pray for a single mom named Sherry, as well as for her kids. God is big enough to know what they need without any details here- please join us in praying for them.

Finally, I always appreciate your prayers for myself and the other leaders at Convergence as we strive to make decisions and live in a way that consistently honors Christ. On a personal note, I will be preaching four nights across town next week at Memorial Christian Church starting on Sunday evening the 25th through Wednesday evening the 28th, and I would be grateful if you would pray for those gatherings!

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer!

In Him we live,

Jeff